Appointments

PLEASE SEE RECENT CHANGES ON THE HOME PAGE

Routine Appointments (01386 765555)

In order to provide maximum flexibility for patients, we offer a mix of pre-bookable and 'book on the day' appointment, all of which are of 10 minutes duration. Pre-bookable appointments can be booked up to 4 weeks in advance, whilst 'book on the day' appointments can be obtained by contacting the practice on the day upon which you wish to be seen. Please note, however, that demand for 'book on the day' appointments can be high and we therefore advise patients to telephone us as close to 08:00 as possible.

We aim to offer appointments with the GP or nurse of your choice. However, on those occasions when this is not possible Please view the additional appointments tab.

Emergency Appointments

The GP's offer 5-minute emergency appointments, which operate on a sit and wait basis.

We would like to advise patients that although an approximate appointment time is given when the appointment is booked, the actual length of wait until you are seen depends on the number of patients attending as emergency cases and how busy the duty doctor is.

Please note that these appointments are of 5 minutes duration in order to discuss the most clinically urgent problem only.

Urgent Appointments (01386 765555)

Patients with an urgent medical problem will always be seen on the same day, by arrangement. However, we are unable to guarantee which GP will deal with your problem in these circumstances.

Online Booking

To register to use the appointment booking service you will be required to complete a Patient Access Application form, which is available at the surgery, and provide at least one form of identification to a member of our reception team - this is to ensure that we comply with data protection regulations. You will then be given details of how to log on to the website and instructions to guide you through the registering process.

After registering with Patient Access, you will be able to log on with your pin number and password and view appointments which are available to pre-book.

Automated Patient Check-in

When you arrive for your appointment you have the choice of either reporting to the reception desk to confirm your arrival, or using our automated arrival service.

The automatic service removes the need for you to queue at the reception desk and is simple to operate. The service uses a touch screen which is located to the left as you enter the waiting room – all you need to do is follow the on-screen prompts to enter your date of birth followed by the first letter of your surname and then confirm your appointment details. Once this is complete, your doctor/nurse knows you have arrived and you are free to take a seat in the waiting room.

Telephone Appointments (01386 765555)

We are pleased to offer the facility for patients to speak to a doctor or nurse over the telephone as an alternative to making the journey to the surgery.

If you feel your problem or query can be dealt with over the telephone, please contact the reception team in the first instance. The receptionists will take details of your query along with a contact number and will ensure that your request is passed to the appropriate doctor or nurse, who will then call you back at an agreed time to discuss the matter in more detail. Please note that we are unable to call telephones that will not accept anonymous calls.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible as even 1 hour's notice would allow us to offer that appointment to someone else.

We aim to offer appointments with the GP or nurse of your choice. However, on those occasions when this is not possible, our reception team will be able to advise you of the alternatives available.

In addition to the practice’s normal opening hours, you can also book an appointment to see a local clinician in the evenings or on Saturday and Sunday at locations across South Worcestershire.

GP practices are working together to provide Improved Access appointments to our patients. This means that your Improved Access appointment may be with a different GP, nurse or based in a different location or practice than you are used to, and some of these appointments are telephone only. These appointments are pre-bookable by contacting the surgery during our opening times. when calling please ask for an Improved Access appointment and our receptionists will help you to find a convenient appointment.

Alternatively you can now call a dedicated number direct to book an appointment01905 789061. This line is open weekdays 6.30 - 8pm and weekends 8 - 12am

We now also offer additional evening appointments here at the surgery (as well as the extended hours appointments offered at The Hub which is at The Riverside Surgery, Evesham). Face to face appointments with the Nurse and GP telephone appointments are available on various evenings.

If you wish to book or need further information please call the surgery on 01386 761111.

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling 01386 761111 before 10:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls.

We are happy for patients to indicate which doctor they wish to see, but please note that we cannot guarantee that they will always be available and another doctor may therefore visit instead.

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

e-Referral Service

All patients requiring a referral to a secondary care service available on the e-referral system can discuss their options with a GP.

The referral will then be processed by our Secretarial team, who will send the patient printed confirmation which includes the UBRN (unique booking reference number) and password, together with details of how to contact the appointment line.

When you and your GP agree that you need to see a specialist, you will be able to choose from at least four hospitals or clinics. You will also be able to choose the date and time of your appointment.

The benefits of e-Referral service

You can choose from a variety of hospitals.

You can also choose the date and time for your appointment if available.

You experience greater convenience and certainty. With the old system, your hospital or clinic chose the date and time of your appointment. This may not have been convenient for you. With e-RS, the choice is yours.

There is less chance that information will get lost in the post because more correspondence takes place through computers.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.